Marco Rubio took time out of the Republican mudfight to remind voters that his tax plan overwhelmingly favors the wealthy. Rubio’s plan is so egregiously stacked against working families and tilts further toward the richest that Mitt Romney would’ve pay NO TAXES in 2011.
Rubio tonight: “If someone makes more money, numerically it’s going to be higher.”
Rubio Tax Giveaway To Wealthy
Plan Favors The Wealthy
PBS: Rubio Signed A Tax Proposal That “Would Slash Federal Tax Bills For Many Of The Wealthiest In The Country.” According to PBS, “Florida Sen. Rubio wrote a book in December outlining proposals to help low-income and middle-class families. In February he signed on to a sweeping tax proposal that does not cut top rates as much as Bush’s plan but does eliminate taxes on investment income. That would slash federal tax bills for many of the wealthiest in the country.” [PBS, 9/13/15]
Bloomberg On Rubio’s Plan: “Even the plan’s proponents concede it would reduce tax collections by at least $1.7 trillion in the first decade, largely favoring the top 1 percent of Americans over the middle class.” “Even the plan’s proponents concede it would reduce tax collections by at least $1.7 trillion in the first decade, largely favoring the top 1 percent of Americans over the middle class.” According to Bloomberg “Senator Marco Rubio of Florida kicked off the competition with his plan to boost economic growth by slashing taxes on investments, wages and business income. Even the plan’s proponents concede it would reduce tax collections by at least $1.7 trillion in the first decade, largely favoring the top 1 percent of Americans over the middle class.” [Bloomberg, 3/12/15]
Rubio’s Tax Plan Was Widely Criticized
Fortune: Rubio’s Tax-Code “May Be One Of The Least Sexy Options Available.”According to Fortune, “In the list of potential issues to base your presidential campaign on, the tax-code may be one of the least sexy options available. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, though, seems to be making that one of the centerpieces of his fight for the Republican nomination.” [Fortune, 8/24/15]
Wall Street Journal: The Rubio-Lee Tax Proposal “Does Nothing For Economic Growth.”According to Wall Street Journal, “The reason is that unlike the investment portions of Rubio-Lee, the child tax credit does nothing for economic growth. The only growth case for it is the Keynesian claim that it would boost consumer spending and aggregate demand, but by now we’ve seen how that doesn’t work.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/17/15]
The Rubio-Lee Tax Proposal Increased The Child Tax Credit By “$2,500 Per Head.”According to the Wall Street Journal, “The bad news, and it’s considerable, is that these gains are accompanied by a major increase in the child tax credit. This credit was created in 1997, and after a George W. Bush expansion it now provides $1,000 a year for each dependent under 17, phasing out between $75,000 to $95,000 for single filers and $110,000-$130,000 for families. Rubio-Lee would raise the credit to $2,500 per head. The left-leaning Tax Policy Center (TPC) estimates this would forgo revenue of $1.576 trillion over a decade. The Tax Foundation estimate is in the same ballpark—notably, on both a static budget basis and using dynamic scoring.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/17/15]
Gainesville Sun Editorial: “Rubio Is Singing The Same Tired Old GOP Song When It Comes To Tax Cuts.” In an editorial The Gainesville Sun wrote, “For supposedly being a new kind of Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio is singing the same tired old GOP song when it comes to tax cuts. […] In his book ‘American Dreams’ and on the stump, he has proposed an economic plan that he claims will help ordinary Americans like his parents rather than just the super-rich. Unfortunately, the plan includes tax cuts that the Associated Press reported last week would drive up the debt by as much as $4 trillion over the first decade — forcing further cuts to programs that benefit an aging population and the poor. […] Rubio’s plan would also reduce all corporate taxes to 25 percent, replace most deductions with a credit of up to $2,000 per filer, and expand the child tax credit to $2,500, the AP reported. A piece in the New York Times in March referred to Rubio’s proposal as the ‘Puppies and Rainbows Tax Plan’ because it provides goodies all around without accounting for how the trillions in lost revenue will be made up. […] Rather than being a different kind of Republican, Rubio is just following in President Ronald Reagan’s tradition of backing big tax cuts and military budget increases that result in a ballooning debt.” [Gainesville Sun, 5/15/15]
Avik Roy: Rubio-Lee Tax Plan Has “A Ton Of Problems.” In a column for Forbes, Avik Roy wrote, “Now, I’m a card-carrying reformocon, but I see a ton of problems with the Lee-Rubio child tax credit. First of all, there’s no empirical evidence that the plan would actually lead to the production of future taxpayers. Most of the tax credits would go to parents who’ve already borne children and have no interest in bearing more. Furthermore, to the degree that the credit incentivizes more childbearing, it may increase out-of-wedlock births. Numerous studies indicate that children born out of wedlock have a far higher risk of living their lives in poverty: net recipients, not financiers, of the entitlement state.” [Forbes, 5/25/15]
- Avik Roy: Rubio-Lee Tax Plan Would Eliminate “Payroll Tax Liabilities For Significant Portion Of The Population.”In a column for Forbes, Avik Roy wrote, “Second, we already have a democratic imbalance, with two-fifths of Americans experiencing no income tax liabilities. Lee-Rubio would worsen that problem by eliminating payroll tax liabilities for a significant portion of the population. The U.S. tax code is already the most progressive in the industrialized world; Lee-Rubio would make that worse.” [Forbes, 5/25/15]
- Avik Roy: Rubio And Lee Failed To Consider The Budgetary Impact Of The Credit.In a column for Forbes, Avik Roy wrote, “Third, because the credit is refundable against payroll taxes, it would either accelerate the impending bankruptcy of the programs funded by payroll taxes–Social Security and Medicare–or count as new federal spending, spending that Lee-Rubio doesn’t offset with cuts elsewhere.” [Forbes, 5/25/15]
- Avik Roy: Rubio-Lee Tax Credit Would Increase The Deficit By More Than $1.7 Trillion, Without Contributing To Growth.In a column for Forbes, Avik Roy wrote, “And fourth, as the Tax Foundation analysis points out, the child tax credit would increase the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion over a decade, while contributing nothing to economic growth. Think about it this way: The Lee-Rubio child tax credits are at least $700 billion costlier than the tax credits deployed by ObamaCare to offer health coverage to the uninsured. That $1.7 trillion could have been used to raise living standards for every American by further reducing individual and corporate tax rates. For Senator Rubio it’s a missed opportunity.” [Forbes, 5/25/15]
Vox: Rubio Is Saying “That His Massive Tax Cut Is Actually Going To Mean More Tax Revenue For The Government—That Two Minus One Will Equal Four.” In a Vox blog, Ezra Klein wrote, “On Tuesday, Marco Rubio told CNBC’s John Harwood that his massive tax cuts — which estimates have found would blow a roughly $4 trillion to $5 trillion hole in the deficit — creates a surplus ‘within the 10-year window.’It is worth slowing down to make clear exactly what Rubio said there. Rubio’s plan cuts corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, taxes on the rich, taxes on the middle class — it cuts taxes on everyone. The cuts are so large that the New York Times called it ‘the puppies and rainbows plan.’ And what Rubio is saying is that his massive tax cut is actually going to mean more tax revenue for the government — that two minus one will equal four. Harwood seemed shocked. ‘Wait,’ he interrupted, ‘your plan creates a surplus because of the dynamic effect?’ ‘Absolutely,’ Rubio replied.” [Vox, 10/6/15]
Vox: “Rubio’s Assurance Will, To Most Tax Analysts, Sound Like Nonsense. And It Is Nonsense.” In a Vox blog, Ezra Klein wrote, “Rubio’s assurance will, to most tax analysts, sound like nonsense. And it is nonsense. A plan that massively cuts taxes isn’t going to lead to budget surpluses. But it’s nonsense that has been validated by an important conservative tax group, that shows the kind of candidate Rubio is looking to be, and that speaks to why the debate over taxes in Washington has become so dysfunctional.” [Vox, 10/6/15]
Vox: “Rubio’s Strategy Is Reminiscent Of George W. Bush’s. He’s Proposing Massive Tax Cuts With No Real Way To Pay For Them […]” In a Vox blog, Ezra Klein wrote, “Rubio’s strategy is reminiscent of George W. Bush’s. He’s proposing massive tax cuts with no real way to pay for them, and he’s suggesting he won’t really need a way to pay for them because they’ll unleash so much economic growth they’ll eventually just pay for themselves. While Rubio gives some lip service to deficit reduction — he later tells Harwood that balancing the budget will require entitlement reform, not just tax reform — he clearly cares a lot more about the tax cuts than about the deficit reduction, just as Bush did.” [Vox, 10/6/15]
Published: Oct 28, 2015